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US Embassy Opens Today in Jerusalem

May 14, 2018

The new U.S. Embassy opened today in Jerusalem to coincide with the 70th anniversary of when David Ben Gurion announced the establishment of the Jewish state and Israel took its place among the nations on May 14, 1948. The official plaque now hangs on a consular office building at an existing U.S. facility that handles passports and visas in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood. View the ceremony here.

President Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman and Trump's Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt attended the opening ceremony along with about 700 guests, including members of Congress and representatives of organizations with close ties to Israel, alongside senior Israeli officials.

Municipal workers erected signposts reading “U.S. Embassy” in Hebrew, Arabic, and English around the yellow stone building at 14 David Flusser St. “This is not a dream — it’s reality,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat tweeted last week in a post that included photos of him on a ladder holding one of the newly installed signs. “Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people — and the world is beginning to recognize this fact. Thank you, POTUS,” said Barkat.

The U.S. retrofit a small suite of offices in that facility to accommodate Friedman and one or two top aides such as his chief of staff. The rest of the embassy staff will remain in Tel Aviv until a new embassy building is finished in Jerusalem in seven to 10 years.